When it was originally published in 1986, this was the first book to deal simultaneously with several aspects of social welfare provision in a developing country. The unique contribution of the book is based on the analysis of 3 substantive welfare areas – land (for self-help housing), urban infrastructure and health – which are examined in terms of the nature, motivation and effectiveness of government intervention. The book covers 3 administrations between 1970 and the mid-1980s and sets the analysis in the wider context of Latin American affairs. The author shows that although social welfare expenditure has increased, its importance as a government priority has been sharply eroded.

Edyta Just is a Senior Lecturer and Associate Professor at the Division of Gender Studies, Department of Thematic Studies, Linköping University, Sweden. Her latest publications include: Åkesson, E., Just, E., and Eriksson Barajas, K. (2022). Closer to and further away: emergency-remote teacher education, orientations, and student-bodies. Högre Utbildning, 12(1): 66–78 and Edyta Just (2021). Learning and Students’ Experiences with Blended Education. International Journal of Higher Education, 10(6): 213–223.

Maria Udén is a Professor in Gender and Technology at the Design research unit, Luleå University of Technology, Sweden. Since the early 1990s, she has taken interest in the implications of feminist theory of science. Her research revolves around gender equality and feminist concepts of alternative technology paradigms and explores interfaces between technology development and social and organizational movements. A recent publication is “NomaTrack and the LoRa-DTN protocol: DTN in innovation for reindeer husbandry” from 2021 (with Samo Grasic, Kerstin Kemlén, and Annelie Päiviö).

Vera Weetzel is a hairdresser, a former PhD candidate in Gender Studies at Linköping University, and an activist. Vera has left the academic path, and is now working as a hairdresser at a salon called Ohyes in Stockholm. They’re focusing on creating LGBTQIA+ welcoming spaces while developing the craft of doing hair. Academically, Vera is interested in and has explored a range of topics and areas, including posthumanism, ecofeminism, new materialism, queer, and trans studies.

Cecilia Åsberg is Professor of Gender, Nature, Culture at Linköping University. Åsberg did the first Scandinavian PhD in Gender Studies, but has since been researching and teaching across the arts and sciences, traversing the “two cultures” and built bridge-building feminist communities with grants in Sweden and abroad, also beyond the confines of academia. Recently published works include “More-than-human care in creative AI-interactions” in Nordic HCI; “Science and gender” (KTH, 2022), “Toxic Embodiment” (in More Posthuman Glossary, 2022), and “Afterword” (in Eco Critique, 2023).